Octopussy Appreciation Thread

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Comments

  • Posts: 19,339
    Glad to see your perseverance paid off @OnlyManWhoCan ,its the first Bond film I ever saw at the cinema so its a personal one for me.
  • Posts: 6,727
    I have great memories of seeing OP in the cinema. It has lots of good stuff in it, from locales, to sets, to action , to characters and it has an underappreciated theme song too imho.
  • Posts: 19,339
    The score is one of my favourites too,and the Bond theme is used correctly throughout as well.
  • Posts: 15,785
    OCTOPUSSY is the first new Bond film I specifically went to see as a Bond fan. I had seen some of the other Bonds on ABC, but it wasn't until the summer of '83 that I sat down and watched an airing of DN that I became hooked.
    So the following weekend my folks took me to see OP. As we left the Saturday matinee theater in the beautiful incredible hot sun, my mom remarked that this Bond had far more action than the others. My Dad commented that Roger Moore's hair was getting lighter and lighter with each film. He then told me Sean Connery was playing Bond in a rival film coming out later that year.
    Two years later, my Dad had a music gig at a party- kind of an end of summer work event for his job, and they hired his band to perform. Beautiful house in the woods with a hot tub, and more importantly, a VHS player. The owner of the house offered to rent GOLDFINGER for me while the party went on, so his wife took me to their local video store. Sadly, they didn't have GF. They did have TMWTGG, OP and NSNA. For some reason we picked OP.
    I sat in front of their relatively big 27 in screen and popped it in. I probably watched the gunbarrel 10 times before letting the film play. I backed up multiple scenes and watched them repeatedly: the Bond, James Bond, the stuffed sheep's head, and so forth.
    It probably took me four hours to get through the film. I had a blast.
    About two months later, my folks and I were shopping at the local mall, and there was a sale for a 27 inch RCA television (very new looking in 1985), and an VCR. We got it, and brought it home in a cab.
    The next day we went to a used record store that happened to have just a few VHS movies. We bought DARK STAR for $10 and OCTOPUSSY for $20. There were two copis of OP. One was a rental copy in a clear plastic rental case, the other came in the CBS/Fox video box. My Dad chose the rental version. We watched OP that night, and I watched it again the next day after school. During that month in November, 1985 I was popping OP in almost every other day. On the weekends we 'd go to Tower Records and begin renting the other Bonds, GOLDFINGER being the first. By early 1986 I had finally seen them all.
    At the time OP wasn't exactly my favorite, it was just a novelty to have it and be able to watch it whenever I wanted. Today I look back at that time and nostalgia brings OP to the top of my childhood memories as well as a pretty solid number in my rankings.
  • Posts: 1,879
    ToTheRight wrote: »
    OCTOPUSSY is the first new Bond film I specifically went to see as a Bond fan. I had seen some of the other Bonds on ABC, but it wasn't until the summer of '83 that I sat down and watched an airing of DN that I became hooked.
    So the following weekend my folks took me to see OP. As we left the Saturday matinee theater in the beautiful incredible hot sun, my mom remarked that this Bond had far more action than the others. My Dad commented that Roger Moore's hair was getting lighter and lighter with each film. He then told me Sean Connery was playing Bond in a rival film coming out later that year.
    Two years later, my Dad had a music gig at a party- kind of an end of summer work event for his job, and they hired his band to perform. Beautiful house in the woods with a hot tub, and more importantly, a VHS player. The owner of the house offered to rent GOLDFINGER for me while the party went on, so his wife took me to their local video store. Sadly, they didn't have GF. They did have TMWTGG, OP and NSNA. For some reason we picked OP.
    I sat in front of their relatively big 27 in screen and popped it in. I probably watched the gunbarrel 10 times before letting the film play. I backed up multiple scenes and watched them repeatedly: the Bond, James Bond, the stuffed sheep's head, and so forth.
    It probably took me four hours to get through the film. I had a blast.
    About two months later, my folks and I were shopping at the local mall, and there was a sale for a 27 inch RCA television (very new looking in 1985), and an VCR. We got it, and brought it home in a cab.
    The next day we went to a used record store that happened to have just a few VHS movies. We bought DARK STAR for $10 and OCTOPUSSY for $20. There were two copis of OP. One was a rental copy in a clear plastic rental case, the other came in the CBS/Fox video box. My Dad chose the rental version. We watched OP that night, and I watched it again the next day after school. During that month in November, 1985 I was popping OP in almost every other day. On the weekends we 'd go to Tower Records and begin renting the other Bonds, GOLDFINGER being the first. By early 1986 I had finally seen them all.
    At the time OP wasn't exactly my favorite, it was just a novelty to have it and be able to watch it whenever I wanted. Today I look back at that time and nostalgia brings OP to the top of my childhood memories as well as a pretty solid number in my rankings.

    Thanks for sharing our memories. I always like hearing other fans' experiences with the series. It was a special time to be a fan.

    A little piece of trivia: that ABC airing of DN in the summer of '83 was actually tied for the highest-rated show of the week.
  • 00Agent00Agent Any man who drinks Dom Perignon '52 can't be all bad.
    edited July 2018 Posts: 5,185
    Rewatched Octopussy yesterday, and what an Ahh-mazing movie it still is.

    Octopussy was the first Bond film outside of the Brosnan ones that i fell in love with 20 years ago (must have been 98/99). On my latest Roger marathon i noticed a couple things changed with his movies for me, especially the fact that i fell in love with TSWLM, a movie i never really 'got' before.

    FYEO, sadly is still a movie i don't get. I doesn't draw me in, and is usually a chore to sit through for me.

    So i was a bit worried about OP, would i love it as much as before? Would it sink in my ranking? But i was relieved to find that i still love it every bit as much as i did before, and actually found even more appreciation for it.

    To start off with my review, i don't really watch Bond movies for the plot. Honestly, i never really understood the plot in Octopussy to begin with. The connection between Kamal Khan, Orlov and Octopussy and their individual motivations was never 100% clear to me and felt convulted, so i made a concious decision to REALLY pay attention this time.... and all i can say is "ok got it!". After 20 years i finally understand what this movie is about :)) it is a bit more complex that usual with Bond movies though.

    What i find trully amazing, is the fact that this movie features so many characters, 2 main villains, 3 henchmen, side characters like Margot and Vijay, but all these characters still feel fleshed out and distinctive! There is a personality to them. For example Kamals pissed off and angry but overly loyal Henchman, who occasionally has silly bits where he gets scared, or confused. You have Michka and Grishka, who are Great. Kamal Khan as the slimy bugger, who has a lot of charisma and is a genuine trickster who likes to f*** people over on all sides.
    I absolutely love the little character bits in the movie, like when Kamal and his Henchman leave the circus, climb into the car and the ignition doesn't work on first try and they look at each other for a second like "WTF!" :D
    Orlov is also great as this egoistical, paranoid wannabe napoleon.

    OP feels like a geniuine espionage film, in my opinion even more than FYEO, but it still features plenty of iconic Bond moments.
    The PTS feels very iconic, you have the casino bit which has me in stitches every time "two sixes, fancy that". A great dinner scene later on, and Roger sells every second of it.

    But also you have very gritty scenes with Bond going undercover, left on his own and doing real investigations. The bit behind the iron curtain where Bond sneakes on the Train, that whole sequence is great, there's a real sense of danger, as well as in the Bomb disarming sequence. And then the hunt through the jungle, which is very tense as well. And even the idiotic tarzan jell can't ruin that (unlike the whistle blow in TMWTGG).

    The locations are great, especially the floating palace of Octopussy really made a huge impression on me this time around. I could watch Roger stroll through that for hours.
    Kamal Kahns estate is impressive as well. East Germany feels gritty and tense as it should be.

    And Maud Adams is fantastic, she really was a completely different type of Bond girl, not a damsel in distress but a woman trully in control of her world, which she doesn't get enough credit for imo (maybe it's the name?). After she got one of the worst Bond girl roles in TMWTGG, where she's just a total victim (as to quote Maud herself) used and abused by pretty much all male characters and then dispatched distastefully, i can see why the Bond producers wanted to make up for that and gave her a trully strong and powerful character to play.

    Her chemistry with Rog feels genuine, and even their final moment is not just played for laughs or sexy-time but feels rather romantic. I wish Roger would have stopped after OP as this would have been a beautiful scene to end his run on. You could imagine the two of them sail across the world together (Daniel, take note).

    And on top of all that you get a beautiful John Barry score, definitly one of his better ones.

    As for negatives, there are a couple nitpicks that i have, but nothing that ruins the movie for me.

    -The "charming tune" bit is annoying to me as hell, i still can't wrap my head around the stupidity of that. Why would Bond know his own theme music?! In an otherwise smart and occasionally gritty movie, this bit is even more misplaced than the "This never happened to the other fella" line from OHMSS.

    -The Tarzan yell is not a big deal but it should have been left out.

    -Not a big fan of the Raid at the end. It's just silly.
    Putting soldiers, armed to the teeth with AK47's, up against silly acrobats who do half-assed flips and karate chops AND NO ONE DIES(!!!) is not very convincing to say the least. That "war zone" is so save that even good old Q doesn't think twice about jumping in there.

    But that's really it, other than that the movie has some genuine tense moments and great pacing from start to finish.

    Right now it's pretty must tied with TSWLM for Rogers best for me.
  • w2bondw2bond is indeed a very rare breed
    Posts: 2,252
    Just giving this thread some love. One of the only Bond films where I can randomly jump to any moment and enjoy it.
  • ThunderfingerThunderfinger Das Boot Hill
    Posts: 45,489
    OCTOPUSSY shot up in my esteem after the last rewatch. It is now in the upper half, and my second favourite Moore film. Most of the stuff that bothered me before, doesn t anymore.
  • edited July 2019 Posts: 17,241
    Absolutely love OP, it's always been a top ten film of mine. As a kid it was my #1.
  • infoviseinfovise Ireland
    edited July 2019 Posts: 114
    I adore Octopussy. From the beautiful locations to the stunning Maud Adams, the menacing Kamal Khan, the train sequence, the stunts, Roger's one liners, the cinematography, the brilliant score and the thrilling PTS. It's a film I could watch on repeat. Every time I watch it, it's an exhilarating joyride from start to finish. A true classic.
  • ThunderfingerThunderfinger Das Boot Hill
    Posts: 45,489
  • 00Agent00Agent Any man who drinks Dom Perignon '52 can't be all bad.
    Posts: 5,185

    For an American, he's exceptionally cultivated.
  • DragonpolDragonpol https://thebondologistblog.blogspot.com
    Posts: 17,727
    00Agent wrote: »

    For an American, he's exceptionally cultivated.

    Ha ha! I remember seeing this I think at the time and it always stuck with me. Though he often nods, on this occasion Homer was dead right. Octopussy is one of my all-time favourite Bond films.
  • cwl007cwl007 England
    Posts: 611
    I love Octopussy. I find it one of the most re watchable Bond films. Sir Rog still looked good in this one as well. (AVTAK was one too many for me)
    I'll also defend the clown scene all day long as one of the strongest scenes in Roger's reign. It is unfairly criticised as somehow symbolic of Roger's comedy slant, but that totally misunderstands the scene.
  • BennyBenny In the shadowsAdministrator, Moderator
    Posts: 14,811
    cwl007 wrote: »
    I love Octopussy. I find it one of the most re watchable Bond films. Sir Rog still looked good in this one as well. (AVTAK was one too many for me)
    I'll also defend the clown scene all day long as one of the strongest scenes in Roger's reign. It is unfairly criticised as somehow symbolic of Roger's comedy slant, but that totally misunderstands the scene.

    Couldn't agree with you more @cwl007 I even had to 'correct' my wife and son on that very matter the other day.
    It seems logical too me that if you need to gain access to a circus big top, but you're being chased by local police and military personnel, then a good disguise would be a clown.
    I particularly like that it's the same clown outfit that OO9 used as well. Fantastic scene, full of tension. Only Sir Rog's Bond could dress as a clown and create edge of seat thrills without looking bad. I understand Sir Rog did have reservations about the scene, but it works beautifully for me.
  • cwl007cwl007 England
    Posts: 611
    +1
    It's a nice serious bit of acting by Roger isn't it. You really feel he is rushing to get to the bomb and is "damn it man there's a bomb in there" is delivered perfectly. I think in a film that contains a Tarzan yell they could have easily sold that scene short and relied on the comedy with a prat fall or a silly music cue but they resisted. The scene is great.
  • Max_The_ParrotMax_The_Parrot ATAC to St Cyril’s
    Posts: 2,426
    Always enjoy watching Octopussy. Roger seems really up for the job, he has quite a sparkle in his eye and a rejuvenated demeanour when compared alongside the films that bookend it (FYEO and AVTAK). Maybe it was also the competition with NSNA that gave the producers the extra push to really make it work. I also think the Indian setting is particularly strong and memorable. Apart from the Tarzan yell and the Barbara Woodhouse ‘sit’, which I thought were very superficial gags, I think it’s a cracker!
  • cwl007cwl007 England
    Posts: 611
    I think the prospect of Connery being back as Bond in the same year would definitely have given the Octopussy team a massive shot in the arm to deliver the best film they could.
    The main thing that stands out for me when I watch Octopussy and NSNA close together is how sumptuous Octopussy looks and how cheap NSNA looks in comparison. It looks like a TV production at times.
  • Posts: 6,682
    Having 009 dressed as a clown while escaping from killers, and 007 dressed as a clown while trying to defuse a nuclear bomb, is an idea reminiscent of something like The Avengers (the TV series). It's flamboyant, strange and macabre, and perfectly suitable for the Bond films. It's in line with the exotic deathtraps in previous films, and certainly with Scaramanga's funhouse.

    The idea of Bond being metaphorically placed in 009's (clown) shoes during the bomb scene ties the story together and enhances the suspense. The tension also arises from the fact the general and his aide don't take him seriously. And as @Benny says, it's a plausible disguise.

    Look at it the other way: imagine if the filmmakers had had Bond dressed in more conventional attire during that scene. Something would have been lost. The scene seems to beg for the quirky and macabre touch of the clown attire, and it's quite an important part of the film's visual identity, in my opinion.

    This film is so good, though, that after this fantastic "pre-climax", we get the palace fight and the terrific airplane sequence.
  • w2bondw2bond is indeed a very rare breed
    Posts: 2,252
    It really is one good scene after another. I think it would be stronger if 009's death was the PTS instead (and lose the acrostar scene, I don't think it adds or detracts from the film). It's one of the few bond films where I love every scene.
  • Posts: 19,339
    Its a pleasure to watch from start to finish with excellent characters.

    That's why its #1 in my rankings :)
  • DragonpolDragonpol https://thebondologistblog.blogspot.com
    edited October 2019 Posts: 17,727
    barryt007 wrote: »
    Its a pleasure to watch from start to finish with excellent characters.

    That's why its #1 in my rankings :)

    Indeed, I think it's no. 1 in my heart if not in my head on my rankings. It's a very special film to me ever since I bought it on video from Woolworths in June 1996 along with TMWTGG for a £15 special offer. Ah, those were the days!

    It was extra special as I'd never seen any of Octopussy before, though I had seen TMWTGG on TV before. I have very happy memories of watching it for the very first time. So I think nostalgia plays a bit part in why I love that film so much. It's also one of the most enjoyable films in the series with a great rewatch factor!
  • Max_The_ParrotMax_The_Parrot ATAC to St Cyril’s
    Posts: 2,426
    As a big Roger Moore fan I love the enthusiasm he brings to Octopussy. Of course the humour and one-liners are played to perfection as always, but he also seems to have an extra glint in his eye and an extra swagger in his step in OP. He seemed to be really up for the job here, no doubt spurred on by the competition from NSNA.

    I suspect for a good few people here Roger wouldn’t be their favourite Bond as such. So I’d be interested to hear thoughts on how much do you feel OP’s success is down to Roger as opposed to all the other factors mentioned? What does Roger bring to this film especially, that maybe you don’t feel applies to his other films?
  • Posts: 19,339
    Dragonpol wrote: »
    barryt007 wrote: »
    Its a pleasure to watch from start to finish with excellent characters.

    That's why its #1 in my rankings :)

    Indeed, I think it's no. 1 in my heart if not in my head on my rankings. It's a very special film to me ever since I bought it on video from Woolworths in June 1996 along with TMWTGG for £15 special offer. Ah, those were the days!

    It was extra special as I'd never seen any of Octopussy before, though I had seen TMWTGG on TV before. I have very happy memories of watching it for the very first time. So I think nostalgia plays a bit part I why I love that film so much. It's also one of the most enjoyable films in the series with a great rewatch factor!

    Same here as it was the first Bond film I saw at the cinema in 1983 when I was 13.

  • DragonpolDragonpol https://thebondologistblog.blogspot.com
    edited October 2019 Posts: 17,727
    barryt007 wrote: »
    Dragonpol wrote: »
    barryt007 wrote: »
    Its a pleasure to watch from start to finish with excellent characters.

    That's why its #1 in my rankings :)

    Indeed, I think it's no. 1 in my heart if not in my head on my rankings. It's a very special film to me ever since I bought it on video from Woolworths in June 1996 along with TMWTGG for £15 special offer. Ah, those were the days!

    It was extra special as I'd never seen any of Octopussy before, though I had seen TMWTGG on TV before. I have very happy memories of watching it for the very first time. So I think nostalgia plays a bit part I why I love that film so much. It's also one of the most enjoyable films in the series with a great rewatch factor!

    Same here as it was the first Bond film I saw at the cinema in 1983 when I was 13.

    My 13,000th post! I'll try to make it a good one!

    Yes, I was over 11 1/2 when I first saw it on video. It's one of those happy childhood memories I often think back to. And as you say, @barryt007, Octopussy has excellent characters and is always a pleasure to watch. I'm sure it was great to see it at the time in the cinema too. I'd love to see it on the big screen some time!
  • w2bondw2bond is indeed a very rare breed
    Posts: 2,252
    What makes Moore great in OP is he plays it deadly serious for the most part, critically in the scenes that matter most (backgammon, bomb threat, Orlov confrontation).

    The action is varied and memorable, villains are interesting and slimy.

    I also did not know the octopus is not real!!!
  • edited October 2019 Posts: 19,339
    I love the way the Indian guy on the bicycle goes between the tuk-tuks who were battling as Vijay tried to get Bond to MI6 HQ in Delhi....it wasn’t even planned, he was an innocent civilian who got past the crew !
  • Posts: 1,879
    w2bond wrote: »
    What makes Moore great in OP is he plays it deadly serious for the most part, critically in the scenes that matter most (backgammon, bomb threat, Orlov confrontation).
    This is my favorite Moore performance because it's probably his most balanced in terms of everything he did well, several examples above illustrating it well. He's just on top of his game and shows a physicality in many of the action sequences he doesn't in many of his other films.

    There's not the overwhelmed by what's going on around him of the two Gilbert films, the burned-out Bond of AVTAK or the over-serious Bond of FYEO. I guess it's what I'd call vintage Bond.
  • GoldenGunGoldenGun Per ora e per il momento che verrà
    Posts: 6,758
    What I really like about Octopussy as a spy film fan, is that it is the only film that puts James Bold firmly in the most spyesque environment ever: divided Berlin and the Inner German Border.

    That being said, it also has spectacular stunts, a hilarious Orlov, breathtaking female co-stars, Lamont’s finest hour as production designer, larger roles for Q and Gogol, some really tense scenes both action and non-action, an excellent central performance by Sir Rog and a gorgeous Alfa Romeo.

    Top half, or maybe even top 10.
  • Posts: 6,727
    barryt007 wrote: »
    I love the way the Indian guy on the bicycle goes between the tuk-tuks who were battling as Vijay tried to get Bond to MI6 HQ in Delhi....it wasn’t even planned, he was an innocent civilian who got past the crew !

    Love that moment ! Can imagine the crew cursing him and then John Glen going "hang on lads, that looks good!"
    Its like the Kenworth truck crashing at the start of the set piece in LTK. Wasnt planned either but looked so good they left it in.
    Back to OP, without a doubt, Moore's best Bond movie. Also under appreciated is the theme song. Always liked 'All Time High!'
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